We recently took part in the BBC Connected Studios event to work on future home page design concepts.

As a User Experience (UX) and Usability agency, it won’t surprise you to know the first thing we did was to conduct user research. This enabled us to understand how people actually use the BBC home page at the moment, uncover their existing behaviours and context of use. We then used this information to inform our concept ideas for future BBC home page iterations. Once we had created wireframe concepts, we discussed these with a separate group of users in an audience focus group held at the BBC Media City office.

Below is an overview of our user research findings and concept design ideas.

Finalists have now been announced for this years incredibly competitive Salford Business Awards, which will be held at Salford City Stadium on the 31st May and we’re excited to announce that Keepitusable has been shortlisted as a finalist in two categories: Rising Star and Entrepreneur.

Our co-founder, Lisa, commented “We’re honoured to have been shortlisted as a finalist in the Salford Business Awards and we think it just goes to show how Media City is helping to shape Salford. Most User Experience agencies are based in London but we feel that Media City has and will continue to bring great opportunities for local businesses so we’re sticking around! Keepitusable now has many well known household brands as clients, including Media City’s prestigious resident, the BBC. We’re a user experience agency which means we help companies to create products and services that customers will love using. We research and analyse real human behaviour and interaction with technology then design around this to create more profitable, customer-centric products and services.”

Paul Wainwright, Chair of The Business Group commented: ‘Once again we’ve had a record number of entries and our finalists reflect the diverse nature of the vibrant Salford business community. Choosing the finalists has been even more difficult than in previous years and all who entered should be proud of their achievements to date. We very much look forward to joining them in celebrating their successes and continued growth at the award ceremony on the 31st May.’

Salford’s City Mayor, Ian Stewart, said: ‘The people shortlisted for these awards make such a great contribution to this city that it is absolutely right that they receive recognition for the fantastic work they do. Now, more than ever, we need to be supporting our business community, as they have the potential to provide the economic lift we need to bring jobs and prosperity to the city. The achievement of these companies, despite tough economic times, is testament to the great work that is going on in salford.

Mobile is big business. The iPhone paved the way for smartphones, increasing their popularity and acceptance; now 48% of UK mobile users own a smartphone and this figure is sure to grow along with the tablet market. People are also using mobiles to make purchases, generating substantial web traffic and revenue for those companies who have ensured a good mobile user experience for their consumers.

A recent Forrester report analysed what trends we can expect in 2012. Here, we present a brief summary of the main findings.

‘How’ mobile services are delivered will differentiate them, not ‘What’ they deliver

Those companies that focus on a simple user experience and convenience will be the ones who stand out from their competitors.

Walgreen recently announced that 40% of its online pharmacy sales originate on mobile devices. Its success is rooted in the simplicity and convenience offered by its mobile prescription refill functionality. Delivering convenience will demand a close partnership with customer experience professionals, as most improvements will come through the design of the experience.

New Smartphone users will be less sophisticated

In the past, Smartphones were predominantly used by business types. This is no longer the case and ease of use will become even more important.

User experience design and user research agency Keepitusable, experts at creating highly usable and accessible interfaces, have been working with the BBC on the use of accessible development techniques.

Ricardo Ortega, co-founder of Keepitusable, said: “The tablet and smartphone markets are now growing faster than PCs. People expect applications to be easy-to-use more than ever before. Those companies that invest in great apps that engage their customers will be the ones that excel in the next few years.”

Creating a great user experience is incredibly difficult because human beings are complicated and unpredictable. Software and websites are often very comprehensive, so creating something that is simple to use and intuitive is ironically complex.

The importance of accessibility is often an undervalued part of the user experience. For companies such as broadcasters, their audience range can be incredibly varied, accessing services from many devices. So ensuring good usability and access for assistive technology is vital.

Businesses, such as e-commerce, often see accessibility as unnecessary or are uncertain of the benefits it can bring. But focussing on accessibility for your tablet or mobile app, website or software means a lot more visitors will be able to become customers.